What You Need to Know About the Teacher’s Regulation Branch -Decision Letters (Professional Conduct Unit)

  1. The decision from the Commissioner if final and binding. There is nothing you can do to change it no matter how wrong you think it may be.
  2. You have two options after you receive the decision letter. You can either apply for a Judicial Review through the BC Supreme Court or file a complaint with Ombudsperson.
  3. For a Judicial Review there are a few things to note. As noted in this document from the BC Supreme Court on Judicial Reviews.

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This is a look at whether the Commissioner errored in law and how it was applied. Not about the actual decision.

A Human Rights Lawyer told me that Judicial reviews are very risky as very rarely do the complainants win. The respondents can and will apply for costs to have their legal fees paid for. You as the parent will then need to pay. Legal fees can be tens of thousands of dollars.

I HIGHLY encourage parents/guardians who are considering this route to consult with a lawyer. The $500 you spend on a consultation fee may save you thousands of dollars in the end.

4. Next option is Ombudsperson BC. The chances of them conducting a review are very slim. Please email me if you would like more details or tips or how to get your case at least to an investigator. Ombudsperson will also not look at the decision, but looks at the process. They track every attempt at a complaint, so even it yours doesn’t make it to an investigator, your intake form alone is helping. Your arguments to them are going to need to be grounded in administrative fairness.

I have asked the Ombudsperson separate the TRB from the Ministry of Education in their annual data reports, so we can track how many people are filing complaints against the TRB, as they refused to disclose this information in a Freedom of Information request. They seemed receptive to the idea, so I’ll be watching their annual report coming out this to year to see if my request was accepted. If not, I’ll follow up.

5. Right now, if someone asked me what they could do with decision letters that they know are not right. I would tell them, to please consider filing with Ombudsperson and go through the process, even if the chances of success are slim. We need to let them know that we are not satisfied with the TRB and Ombudsperson determines what needs are out there, based on whether people are filing complaints or not. So, your voice on this does matter.

Please consider providing feedback to the Ministry of Education.

Also, please consider contacting me. There is a wider much larger project that I am working on, and I would love to hear other people’s stories.

6. Getting your complaint to a consent resolution is slim. Right now the most recent stats from the Commissioner’s office reveals that from April – June, only 7% made it to a consent resolution.

It sounds like a dead end. What’s the point? Here it is. When we file complaints they stay on the certificate holder’s record. If there is more than one complaint and they build, the chance of success increase. You are basically filing to help out the next parent or the next child. And, who knows…maybe this isn’t the first time that someone has filed a complaint and yours will actually be successful.

If we say nothing and don’t speak up, it helps no one. It’s like it never even happened. Don’t get your hopes up. Manage expectations, but file with the TRB, and then file with Ombudsperson. Oh and then call me and blab all about it. I’ll make your effort worth it. You’ll be part of a larger story. 😉

Speaking Up BC – One Year Anniversary

So….I am a little chatty…about education and about disability.

I want to send out a heartfelt thank you to ALL of the people who have encouraged me and connected with my writing. Whether you agree or disagree with my perspective, it’s an honor to take up some space in your thought process. I will admit, some of my blogs are a little…”spicy”. So many wonderful people have reached out. For those who find my website organically and are asking questions about your own advocacy journey, it fills my heart to be able to pass along information I have learnt along the way. We are not alone.

This website went from solely being shared through BCEd Access’s social media Facebook group and over the year it has blossomed. People are finding this website, sharing it with others, and now I get to refer them to BCEd Access. So many wonderful friendships have grown over this past year. My heart is full.

In addition to my pages on this website where my learning is all stored…well the stuff I can share publicly 😉 , here is a list of the blogs July 2021-July 2022. From my heart to yours. Disability rights and public education are worth fighting for. We may not have created this system, but if we are just observers and not active participants, then we are certainly maintaining it. Every little step, no matter how small, all makes a ripple effect. Everything builds. There are so many advocates in the system, past, present and upcoming future. We are all connected by the invisible string.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.’ – Margaret Mead

From the beginning, starting in July 2022

Expectations of Parents Behaviour: Why are so many parents losing their shit?

The Unpredictability of Public Education

The Impending Education Tsunami

Systemic Impacts of Scarcity in Education

Context and Meaning

IEP Meetings in Public Education

Twinkie Theory

A Call for Fair Process

Groupthink…Does it Exist in Schools and on Boards of Education?

Rejection. Our Starting Point.

Submission for Budget Consultation. 2022

August 2021

Sex Education, Sexual Health and Disability

The Non-Death Loss for Parents of Disabled Children, All over this Province

Accessing Education

September 2021

Are Lawsuits the only Chance Parents have in Shaping the Education System?

You are Just not Disabled…Yet

…and Then You Take the House

Am I Disabled Enough?

October 2021

Do You Trust Me?

I Give Myself Permission

The Scary Parent

Missing Counselling Notes

December 2021

Let’s Talk Language

Education Case Law

Shame and Disability

Rally Speech

Love Ableism, xoxo

January 2022

Letter to SFU

The Dance of Advocacy and Forgiveness

February 2022

Swimming Upstream in the Education System

Human Rights – Lunch and Learn

March 2022

Top 10 Shocking Education Advocacy Discoveries

April 2022

What does Ableism Look Like in Schools? It Looks Like This?

Why a Diagnosis?

Case Decisions and Reports Connected to Education

Ableism Policy – Why Should We Care?

Groundbreaking BC HRT – Accepts Parent Added on Child’s HR Complaint

The State of Human Rights Violations in BC

May 2022

Ministry of Education & Wilful Blindness

Freedom of Information Request Denied – Ombudsperson

Defamation. You said What?

June 2022

Board of the Rings

Teacher’s Regulation Branch (Professional Conduct Unit)

Keeping the Hope Alive

Advocacy Summer Camp

July 2022

Speaking Up BC – One Year Anniversary